Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 463 Chance Encounter
Known as the "Morocco of the East," Hakka Ancient City is one of the few national 5A-level scenic spots in NJ.

This ancient city, with a history of over two thousand years, retains all the charm and beauty of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions in its art, music, and architectural style.

The days here are exceptionally long. It was already 9 p.m. in the capital, but when Chen Shu looked up and around, it was only just getting dark.

The main street of the ancient city is lined with shops, but the commercial atmosphere is not as strong as that of tourist attractions in other Chinese cities.

The shop owner was just like the other shop owners on the food street Chen Shu had visited earlier—optimistic and enthusiastic. If you casually walked into the shop, the owner would smile at you and then play a tune for you on an unknown musical instrument.

Here, you'll encounter artisans every few shops. They sit in front of their little shops, not busy soliciting passing tourists, but simply absorbed in the unfinished products they're working on. Occasionally, when they have a moment to spare, they'll even sing a song with an exotic flair.

There are also many alleys on both sides, and even though it's late, you can still see three or five Wei children playing and frolicking in them. They are playful and cute, with clear, bright eyes that reveal their pure and happy hearts.

In a daze, Chen Shu became more doubtful. Was this romantic place still the dangerous den of tigers that he had seen in the information?
Rubbing his eyes, Chen Shu decided to find Julie first. After all, it was not appropriate for a young woman who looked Chinese to be walking alone on the streets full of ethnic minorities in this unfamiliar place.

Chen Shu quickly perked up, putting himself in the shoes of a young and beautiful woman who should go at night, and began to think about where Julie might go.

bar
Not far ahead, there was a wooden road sign that read "Ancient City Bar Street". Chen Shu shrugged and started walking towards it.

This area is much livelier than the previous attractions. To the left is a row of barbecue bars and music bars, while to the right are many outdoor tables and chairs with roofs. Occasionally, you can see a few enthusiastic young people of the Wei ethnic group dancing their unique ethnic dances on the road in the middle.

Throughout the journey, all I saw were roasted lamb and dance. Perhaps these two things are the unique soul of this people.

After walking a few steps, Chen Shu saw Julie sitting alone to the side, drinking.

She wore a light green dress, her long, fair legs partially exposed. Her posture as she sat and held a glass was extremely elegant, exuding the charm and sexiness of a mature woman.

Those eyes blinked, clearly indicating that they had also seen Chen Shu approaching.

"Chen Shu?" Facing the intersection, Julie turned her gaze to Chen Shu.

With a whoosh, Chen Shu pulled out the iron chair, relaxed, sat down, picked up an open bottle of Wusu beer from the table, poured himself a cup, and took a small sip.

Although he was a little anxious, and his initial thought was to find Julie and get her back to the hotel as soon as possible, all Chen Shu saw and heard along the way was a peaceful scene of singing and dancing.

He thought it was because of the dry weather that he drank a little alcohol, but actually he was just a bit relaxed.

"I'm starting to feel something." Chen Shu could tell that Julie was in a bad mood, and asked with a smile, "Why didn't you invite me when you went out for drinks? You don't have a problem with me, do you? Haha."

Julie snorted coldly and said angrily, "How dare I have a problem with you, the great hero of Dongzhou?"

"Hero? Don't try to ridicule me like those people on the internet. I went to your room earlier and knocked on the door for ages but no one answered. I figured you must be out shopping, so I came looking for you."

As he spoke, Chen Shu pulled up the zipper at the collar of his hoodie, stared at Julie's exposed white arms, and asked in confusion, "Aren't you cold?"

Julie glared at him, angrily saying, "Chen Shu! You came all this way just to ask me if I'm cold? Why don't you go find that pretty internet celebrity you met on the plane and ask her if she's cold too!"

Beautiful internet celebrity?

What's going on here? Feeling somewhat confused, Chen Shu waved his hand, just about to explain, when his attention was drawn to a commotion not far behind Julie.

He squinted and stared intently. He saw a somewhat familiar purple dress covered in brand logos swaying in the shoving and noisy crowd, as if something had happened.

As an experienced grassroots police officer, Chen Shu could tell at a glance that a dispute had definitely broken out in the crowd, and it was quite serious. Clearly, the internet celebrity traveling alone at the airport had run into trouble.

"Julie, wait a minute. Something seems to have happened over there. Um, it's that internet celebrity who was on the same flight as us. I'll go check it out!"

Having said that, Chen Shu, as a police officer, naturally couldn't ignore the public dispute happening right next to him, so he got up and jogged over there.

"Chen Shu! You stupid straight man!" Julie was furious, her chest heaving with anger. She glared fiercely at Chen Shu's hurried departure, uttered some harsh words, and stormed back to the hotel.

Chen Shu walked over to the crowd causing trouble and stood aside to listen to the argument between the two sides for a while.

Earlier, this woman in purple was sitting alone at an outdoor table eating barbecue and drinking when she was approached by several young men. They then sat down together and started drinking. After a few rounds of drinks, to express her intention to eat meat and drink alcohol heartily, the woman asked the restaurant owner for more beer and ordered "big meat," but little did she know that in this place, "big meat" meant pork.

But since the food had been served, it wasn't appropriate to return it, so the woman ate it herself.

As a result, a few of the men who had drunk too much were unwilling to watch the woman eat pork in front of them, so they spoke a bit harshly.

The woman was initially indifferent to whether or not to eat pork, and even apologized to the guests when the restaurant served it. However, since she had paid for the food and drinks, and the other party was throwing a tantrum, she became uncomfortable and retorted, "I can eat whatever I want, it's none of your business!"

Then a conflict broke out between the two sides, and they started pushing and shoving each other.

"You must respect our customs! You can't eat big pieces of meat! Absolutely not!" one of them shouted, his face as black as charcoal.

“You’re eating big chunks of meat right in front of us,” another man, reeking of alcohol, chimed in.

"Monks believe that all beings are equal, so they don't eat meat. You just don't eat pork, but you eat all other meats!" The woman in purple stood with her hands on her hips, pointing at the group and shouting.

"You! You still mention big meat in front of us! You still mention big meat!" The one standing at the very front was furious, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes bulging out.

"I'll say it! I'll say it! So what! It's my mouth, what business is it of yours! Pork! Pork! Pork!" The woman in purple became a little arrogant, shouting loudly with her mouth wide open, regardless of the consequences.

All three were trembling with rage, their hair bristling and their fury uncontrollable. If it weren't for the fact that the instigator was a woman, or perhaps because more and more people were watching, they probably would have already started fighting.

Although they were all Han Chinese, Chen Shu, from a third-party perspective, still felt that the woman in purple had gone too far. A woman traveling alone shouldn't have bothered arguing with the locals like that; otherwise, she would only suffer the consequences.

This is not the southeastern coast.

Seeing that some onlookers were constantly making a fuss, and the situation on the scene was not very optimistic, Chen Shu pushed through the crowd to try to smooth things over between the two sides. He planned to criticize the woman in front of the three people, and according to the custom in Dongzhou, the matter would be over.

This is his old profession, a skill he honed at the police station to make a living, and he's very adept at it!

(End of this chapter)